Kozhikode plane crash: Air India Express says 85 recovered passengers discharged from hospitals

New Delhi: Air India Express on Wednesday said 85 passengers injured in the plane crash in Kozhikode have been discharged from hospitals after “obtaining complete fitness”. Moreover, the airline said its contract service provider Kenyon International arrived at Kozhikode on Monday and has started the process of “search and retrieval” of the baggage belonging to the crew and passengers who were in the aircraft. The US-based company is conducting its process with the help of Air India officials, it added. Air India Express is a wholly owned subsidiary of national carrier Air India. “We will ensure that all the baggage retrieved is handed over to the passengers and family in due course, after the cleaning and sanitisation process,” the airline noted. The Air India Express flight from Dubai with 190 people on board, including a six-member crew, overshot the tabletop runway during landing at the Kozhikode airport in heavy rain on Friday night. It fell into a valley 35 feet below and broke into pieces, killing 18 people including the two pilots. Civil Aviation minister Hardeep Singh Puri had said on Saturday that 149 people have been admitted to hospitals, 23 discharged, while three were critically injured in the plane crash. The injured passengers of IX-1344 flight are being treated at various hospitals of Kozhikode, the airline said. “As on date, 85 injured passengers have been discharged from various hospitals after obtaining their complete fitness,” it added. Air India Express has only B737 aircraft in its fleet. The airline had said on Sunday the mortal remains of 16 passengers killed in the plane crash have been handed over to their families, and added that authorities were investigating the accident.